Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge

Table of contents

1. Cracked Clay Under the Mounds
2. A Pyre of Papyrus
3. When Books Were Dog Cheap
4. An Ark to Save Learning
5. Spoil of the Conqueror
6. How to Disobey Kafka
7. The Twice-Burned Library
8. The Paper Brigade
9. To Be Burned Unread
10. Sarajevo Mon Amour
11. Flames of Empire
12. An Obsession with Archives
13. The Digital Deluge
14. Paradise Lost?
15. Coda: Why We Will Always Need Libraries and Archives

Libraries have been attacked since ancient times but have been especially threatened in the modern era, through war as well as willful neglect. Burning the Books describes the deliberate destruction of the knowledge safeguarded in libraries from Alexandria to Sarajevo, from smashed Assyrian tablets to the torching of the Library of Congress. The director of the world-famous Bodleian Libraries, Richard Ovenden, captures the political, religious, and cultural motivations behind these acts. He also shines a light on the librarians and archivists preserving history and memory, often risking their lives in the process.

More than simply repositories for knowledge, libraries support the rule of law and inspire and inform citizens. Ovenden reminds us of their social and political importance, challenging us to protect and support these essential institutions.

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674271104